Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Tsuki no Hime ❯ Chapter Three - All in the Cards ( Chapter 3 )

Authors Notes: Here we are, the third chapter of HPatTnH, after quite a wait. I've been busy with my last semester in school; I hope everyone understands. I fear this chapter will be short for various reasons. Hopefully chapter four will be longer to make up for the brief nature of this chapter. Thank you all for understanding.

Thankies: Trenchcoat Man, Fuuzaki, Tensei, and others who don't read my fanfiction, but support me in other ways.

Disclaimers: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Sailormoon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko-sama. The story line of Harry Potter and the Tsuki no Hime and any original characters who may happen to pop up along the way belong to me, Sailorcelestial.

Harry Potter and the Tsuki no Hime

Chapter Three - All in the Cards

Harry sighed. The air was thick and pungent, as usual in Professor Trelawney's North Tower classroom. He dared a glance downwards at the cards laid out on his circular desk. Ron stared intently at the spread, brows furrowed in concentration. He was actually taking the Tarot cards seriously because his mother told him once that one of the Weasley ancestors had read Tarot. Ronald Weasley, however, seemed to be having no luck.

Harry glanced over to the table where Usagi sat with Kari Ableman, another Gryffindor student whom Harry had never met but knew through word of mouth. Kari gaped open-mouthed as Usagi laid out the cards, and wrote on the parchment McGonagall had given her. Harry wondered what the Japanese student could be seeing and writing that could so shock the other girl. He had just decided to sneak over and have a peek when Trelawney clapped her hands as the signal for them to stop and look at her. Another summer had done little to change the professor, and her wide, misty eyes looked over them all, pausing on Harry. As always, she gave a little whimper at the sight of him before moving on to the next student.

"Now, class, I would like for those of you who read the cards to tell the rest of the class what you see, and we will open our Inner Eyes to the mystical vibrations of the Tarot."

"Yeah," muttered Ron as he stared helplessly down at his own deck, "right, like if our Inner Eye isn't open already it will be by now."

"Mr. Weasley, perhaps you would like to be the first?" Trelawney gestured grandly over at them, her voice trembling as though she could already tell what Ron had seen in Harry's future. Having seen nothing he could make sense of, Ron stood and said what he knew she wanted to hear.

"I see death in Harry's future," Ron said as he sent an apologetic glance to Harry, "indicated by the, uh, the Death card in the, the, uh . . . the final position of the spread."

"Of course," Trelawney breathed, "there must be so terrible a fate in store for our young Harry-" She paused abruptly, seeing someone's hand raised high in the air. "Erm. Yes?"

Harry turned to see Usagi lower her hand and write furiously on her parchment. Everyone exchanged glances, wondering what the strange foreign girl could have to say in this class. Some people looked at her warily. Many students looked on foreigners with fear after the fourth year. Usagi finished writing and handed the parchment to Kari, who read it over, then looked up at her partner with wide eyes. Usagi nodded, and Kari read.

"The Death card doesn't necessarily mean physical death. It can also mean a deep, profound change, which is a sort of death because it is the end of one part of a person's life. But it is also the beginning of another part, so in that way, the Death card can be positive."

Kari finished and looked up. No one spoke, waiting to see what Trelawney would say at being so directly contradicted, which hadn't happened since Hermione in their third year. Harry noticed that Usagi didn't glare at their teacher as Hermione did, daring Trelawney to say otherwise. Instead, she merely sat and waited for a reply, blue eyes serene.

"You're quite right," Trelawney finally replied, startling Harry. He glanced at Ron, who blinked and looked as though he didn't know what to do. "The Death card can indeed mean a great change. My dear, have you studied the Tarot before?"

Harry saw Kari rushing to write everything down, but Usagi reached forward and stopped her hand.

"Yes, I have. A friend back home is quite knowledgeable about the Tarot." She smiled softly. The school's translation spell was working. Trelawney gave a smile that none of them had seen before and moved on to Parvati and Lavender. For once, she didn't dwell on the concept of Harry's possible death. As soon as Parvati began speaking about the Lovers card, Ron and Harry both turned around at started speaking.

"How did you-"

"Who's this friend-"

"When did the-"

"Can you-"

Usagi placed a finger to her lips and shushed them sternly. She waved them back to their own table. Harry fidgeted the rest of the class period, unable to concentrate. Not as if he ever was able to concentrate in Divination, but his curiosity over Usagi and her comment made things worse. Ron fared no better, as he fumbled the cards before handing them to Harry and spilled them over the floor. The two spent the next five minutes tracking down the 52 Tarot cards that somehow found themselves under tables all over the room. At Usagi's table, she handed them the Moon card with an odd expression.

Finally Trelawney announced the end of the class period and asked that they have three readings for three different people for next class. Outside the Tower, Ron and Harry cornered Usagi.

"How'd you know that?"

"I told you, I have a friend who knows the Tarot well. She taught me."

"Who is she?"

"She's a priestess of the Shinto religion. There isn't time to explain it all at the moment."

"When did the translation spell kick in?"

"About halfway through Kari reading my words."

"Can you do a reading for anyone?"

At this, Usagi blinked and looked at Harry, who'd asked the question. Her face melted into a blank mask.

"Why do you ask?"

"I-" Harry stopped, not knowing what else to say. Why DID he ask? Did he really want her to read his future in a deck of cards? Did he really want to know what such a spread would say?

"If you think about it," she said to him, "and in three days you still want me to read your cards, I will. Now I have to go meet with McGonagall before going to Charms." They watched her go. Almost into the building, Usagi turned around and called out to them: "Oh, and you lied to Trelawney about the position of that card, Ron! It was in the position for the recent past, so Harry's already experienced this profound change!"

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"Honestly, do you two really believe she can read your future?" Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. She lifted the book she was reading, Magical Uses of Muggle Items: A History of Muggle Artifact Misuse, back up to cover her face.

"Well she certainly did pick up on Harry's PAST didn't she?" Ron sighed. He looked to Harry and rolled his eyes in a perfect imitation of Hermione. "Profound change, she said. Didn't she, Harry?"

"Sure did." Harry didn't mention that he wasn't at all certain how he felt about the strange girl being able to read that in his cards. "Recent past, as in not something that happened when I was a little kid. She meant . . . you know."

Hermione put the book down and stared at Harry. Her eyes were odd. Hermione always had an intensity about her, an energy for learning that kept her going when everything seemed about to fall apart. But even when she spoke of books and class, even during the dangerous adventures they'd shared, Harry had never seen her eyes quite so serious.

"Harry, you have to remember that you aren't famous only in England. Witches and wizards all over the world know your name and your history. Everyone in our world knows what happened in fourth year. It isn't exactly something that is likely to remain in England. There is no proof at all that Usagi did anything but speak of what she already knew."

"You're right."

Ron glared.

"Well, she is! Everyone and their dogs know my past." Harry shrugged, glad to have that over with. He couldn't believe he'd even thought of it, even for a moment. Of course she'd already known and just used him to make a point about the cards in class. Everyone knew Divination was junk magic.

Parvati and Lavender giggled across the room.

Well, almost everyone.

Harry watched as Hermione got up and went over to the other two girls. She spoke lowly, so he couldn't hear what she said, but by the look on her face and theirs, he guessed they weren't sharing girly gossip. Ron leaned over and whispered.

"You have no idea how glad I am that Hermione isn't one of those giggly girls."

Harry nodded. He expected his best friend to say something along those lines. Since fourth year he'd noticed the growing . . . something . . . between Ron and Hermione, though it seemed Ron didn't notice it at all. Hermione did. She often actually hid her face behind the books she read so Ron wouldn't see her blushing. Harry had caught Ron on more than one occasion looking at the book where Hermione's face should be with a thoughtful expression on his face. So maybe Ron did notice something after all. Harry wished they would just get it over with and go on a date.

Hermione came back over to their group and sat down, huffing as she tended to do when annoyed. Parvati and Lavender glared at the back of her head and packed up their things, heading up to the girl's dormitory. Ron looked about to burst with curiosity, but he knew better by now than to ask what she'd said. Still annoyed, Hermione would be just as likely to bite his head off as anyone else's.

The portrait swung open from the outside and Usagi stepped through. Neville followed behind her, most likely because he'd forgotten the password again. She said something to him that made the boy smile and run off red-faced. Then she walked over to where the three friends waited.

"It's nice to be able to speak. My hand was beginning to hurt from all that writing!"

"That's nothing! You should have seen Hermione during our third year! She couldn't get the ink from her fingers for WEEKS into the summer!" Ron grinned at the bushy-haired girl, who took her book and threw it at him. Ron caught it and grinned even bigger. Hermione huffed.

"Well, at least I learned loads that year. I daresay you didn't learn a thing!"

"Yeah, you learned a lot and nearly killed yourself doing it too!"

Harry shook his head and returned his attention to the first Potions essay of sixth year. The new Potions professor knew so much, and was so much nicer than Snape. Harry found he could actually enjoy the class with a teacher who didn't threaten to poison the class or their toads. He couldn't help but wonder, however, what Snape was doing that had kept him gone for an entire year. If Professor Bordeaux was back this year, then Snape wouldn't be returning for sixth year either. Could he really be spying on the Death Eaters again? But Voldemort said-

"Harry!" Ron waved a hand in front of his face. Harry blinked and looked up to see Ron, Hermione, and Usagi all staring at him. "You just spaced out there for a second. You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry." Ron and Hermione gazed at him a moment longer, but they knew when to let something go.

The portrait hole opened a second time, and Seamus came into the common room. They paid him no attention, thinking he would go up to the boy's dorms to talk to Dean. But he came over to them instead.

"Usagi, Professor Trelawney wants to see you in her Tower as soon as possible."

"Did she say why?"

"Just that she wants to see you, that her Inner Eye has shown her something she thinks you should know."

Ron snickered.

"Watch out, Usagi, she's seen your death in the tea leaves! You're doomed!"

"You shouldn't make fun of her," Usagi said as she rose from her seat. Her blue eyes were quite serious. "I can tell that none of you think very highly of Divination or future sight. But there's more to it than you think. I've seen some predictions come true in my time. You should listen to Professor Trelawney sometimes."

As she walked away and through the portrait hole, Ron turned to Harry and Hermione, eyebrows raised.

"Now what do you suppose she meant by that?"

End Chapter Three.